Chapter 29: Ant Hell (2)
The tension between Min Hae-joon and the GODS villains reached its peak, and finally, they began to bare their teeth at each other.
Chae Jin-young, who had been scattering psionic energy to sense the atmosphere at the scene, immediately noticed it.
“It looks like infighting has broken out among them.”
“Then shouldn’t we just let them annihilate each other? We can sneak your little sister out in the meantime.”
Dolsae spoke as if it were good news.
But Chae Jin-young immediately shook his head.
“If even one of them dies, we won’t get any information. While I deal with them as planned, the seniors can handle the follow-up.”
In truth, more than information, Chae Jin-young wanted to obtain their black mana and abilities.
He had simply phrased it mildly since the seniors didn’t know that.
“Junior is right. We need to find out what GODS is planning in Korea.”
Choi Hee-yeon backed him up from the side.
Dolsae stroked his chin and nodded.
“Hmm… I have no choice but to admit that. But are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“About what?”
“Right now they’re fighting each other, but the moment a third party like you appears, they might unite against you. These aren’t just anybody — two 1st-grade and one 2nd-grade from GODS.”
“Are you worried about me, senior?”
Seeing Chae Jin-young’s calm, almost indifferent expression, Dolsae scratched his face awkwardly.
Now that he thought about it, this was not someone he really needed to worry about.
Still, considering who the opponents were, he couldn’t be completely at ease.
“Well… you never know what might happen.”
Chae Jin-young was about to reply when he suddenly focused on the rapidly changing atmosphere at the scene.
It felt like Min Hae-joon was about to make a big move.
“I think I need to go in now.”
The moment Chae Jin-young activated Acceleration and rushed into the battlefield, the faces of the two agents stiffened with tension.
Right after Chae Jin-young disappeared into the black fog—
Swoosh—!
A woman shot out through the fog.
She stumbled briefly from the sudden flight, but quickly regained her balance and stood firm.
“Chae So-young-ssi, you’re safe.”
“Ah, Oppa’s senior.”
When Choi Hee-yeon approached, Chae So-young recognized her right away.
They had already been introduced through Chae Jin-young before the operation began.
“From now on, we’re going to get as far away from the battlefield as possible. Monsters will swarm us on the way, so please be fully prepared.”
“I’m ready.”
Chae So-young nodded with a determined expression.
***
Whooooosh—
A sandstorm blanketed the entire area in a hazy yellow.
Min Hae-joon, buried deep inside the Creep, extended black hands in all directions to survey the surroundings.
The scenery appeared to him like it was being viewed through an infrared camera.
‘A sandstorm appeared right after Chae So-young disappeared. Interesting.’
It almost felt like the pieces of a puzzle that hadn’t fit before were finally falling into place on their own.
But now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
This was actually an opportunity.
The sand blocked visibility, and the influence of the GODS bastards had weakened.
Pukwaaaak—!
Ripping apart the Creep controlled by Jacob, shaking off even Layla’s gravity, Min Hae-joon rose to his feet.
His appearance could no longer be called human — his entire body was covered in pitch-black Creep.
His size had grown at least twice as large, and black hands sprouted and fluttered all over his body.
On his blackened face were two blazing red eyes and a long, torn-open mouth.
Even without clear vision, his eyes clearly picked out the red silhouettes of Layla and Jacob.
The moment he tried to sneak closer to them—
The sandstorm evaporated as if it had never existed.
“Min, when the hell did you learn such an annoying skill?”
Layla, who had spotted Min Hae-joon, twisted her hair around her fingers as she spoke.
“I have nothing more to say to you two.”
The moment he finished speaking, Min Hae-joon activated Pulverize.
Tskwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!!
Thousands of blade-like afterimages were left in the empty space where Layla had just been.
She had already used spatial movement to escape.
Thanks to the artifact hanging around her neck — ‘Sixth Sense’ — she had sensed the danger and dodged at the last instant.
‘Look at this.’
In that brief moment, Layla felt goosebumps and, at the same time, exhilaration.
Normally, it was nearly impossible for a 2nd-grade Hunter’s ability to break through a 1st-grade Hunter’s mana barrier.
The higher the grade, the denser the mana itself became.
Even if five 2nd-grade Hunters combined their strength, they would barely scratch it — yet Min Hae-joon possessed power that could go beyond that and inflict fatal wounds.
Swoosh—
“Arrogant little shit.”
Layla appeared behind Min Hae-joon and crushed him downward with gravity.
Tskwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!!
The ground beneath Min Hae-joon caved in deeply, yet he stood tall and unyielding.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Kwaaaaang!
A sudden explosion of black light engulfed Min Hae-joon.
Jacob’s ability: Force Field.
Once activated, it deployed a hemispherical domain centered around him.
Within that domain, an energy called “Force” was generated — something that could be used in place of mana.
And this Force, visible only to Jacob’s eyes, could move freely, condense into shields, or even be detonated to inflict massive damage on enemies.
Its one weakness? It stopped working once the target left the Force Field.
However, since he could bind an opponent’s movements with Force, escaping wasn’t easy.
And when Layla’s gravity ability was added on top of that, even a Hunter of the same grade would be rendered completely helpless.
Puk—!
The black arms torn off Min Hae-joon by the explosion fell to the ground in clumps, squelching wetly.
“What are you doing, Jacob? You think ripping off a few arms is going to do anything?”
“I was just controlling it so he wouldn’t die. But he’s tougher than I expected.”
Jacob replied indifferently to Layla’s scolding.
There wasn’t really anything he could say in rebuttal.
Their goal was to capture and interrogate Min Hae-joon, not kill him.
Jacob gathered even more Force, once again sealing Min Hae-joon’s movements.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwa—!!
An even larger black explosion swept through the area.
Layla had already escaped via spatial movement before it hit.
A massive crater formed where Min Hae-joon had stood — as if a meteor had crashed down.
Layla, watching the scene, muttered,
“At this rate… isn’t he going to die…?”
But before she could finish her sentence—
Shwaaaaak—!
Black hands shot toward her like arrows.
Tap—!
Layla kicked off the ground and retreated, barely avoiding activating spatial movement in time.
Following the dozen or so black hands, a pitch-black figure burst through the dust cloud.
Min Hae-joon — completely unscathed, not a single wound on him.
“How…?”
For once, genuine shock appeared on Jacob’s usually calm face.
An explosion of that level of Force should have at least blown away half his torso.
Min Hae-joon’s power far exceeded expectations.
Even while his movements were bound by Force, he had overcome it and launched an attack.
“Getting more and more fun, huh? Hehe! Jacob, hold him tighter!”
Layla faced Min Hae-joon with a smile full of madness.
Jacob had been conserving Force for this plan, but now wasn’t the time to hold back.
He pulled every last bit of Force within the field and enveloped Min Hae-joon completely.
Min Hae-joon’s movements visibly slowed, yet the black hands extended rapidly as if ignoring the Force entirely.
Kwa-jijijik—!!
Layla slammed the incoming black hands downward with gravity,
Then in an instant dashed right up to Min Hae-joon’s face and delivered a devastating uppercut to his jaw.
Kwaaaang!
A strike infused with a 1st-grade Hunter’s physical strength and mana.
Min Hae-joon’s jaw shattered completely, and his body floated upward.
In that moment, the Force binding his body was released.
Gravity suddenly lightened, and he shot upward as if piercing the sky.
Layla vanished from her spot immediately.
Swoosh—
She reappeared right on top of Min Hae-joon’s stomach as he floated upward in a supine position.
“To think you’d make such a brutish choice. Truly fitting for you, Layla.”
The black hands extending from Min Hae-joon’s body latched onto Layla.
Now that she was outside Jacob’s Force Field, Min Hae-joon had nothing holding him back.
In an instant, pitch-black claws completely covered her body.
Her entire form began to darken, just like a Mine transformation in progress.
Yet Layla’s lips tore into an impossibly wide grin.
“I’ve always liked the stupid, straightforward methods.”
In that instant, an enormous gravity force crushed down on Layla’s body.
The falling acceleration transferred directly to Min Hae-joon’s body.
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!
In the blink of an eye, the two of them smashed into the ground, burrowing deep into the earth.
Tap—!
A moment later, piercing through the dust, Layla’s figure shot upward like a spring.
Black hands stretched out wildly after her, but they soon drooped limply to the ground.
Still, she couldn’t let her guard down.
The black hands clinging to her body were slowly eating away at her.
She tried releasing mana to shake them off, but she couldn’t get rid of them all.
“Persistent bastard. Regenerating again?”
Moreover, the fragments of Min Hae-joon’s shattered body were quickly being reassembled as Creep latched onto them.
Layla was starting to feel the oxygen thinning.
She was wearing an artifact ring that increased her resistance to Creep, but it wasn’t perfect.
On top of that, the amount of mana she had to expend just to protect herself from the black hands couldn’t be ignored.
Meanwhile, Min Hae-joon, continuously replenishing his strength through the Creep, showed no signs of tiring anytime soon.
“Ha… So this was your plan from the beginning, Min? To you, GODS was nothing but a tool to be used. Kkuk.”
She finally understood why he had been so confident.
In a contaminated zone, Min Hae-joon was practically invincible.
But she still had no reason to accept death just yet.
She wasn’t alone.
As long as Jacob could keep Min Hae-joon tied up inside the Force Field, she could buy time.
In the meantime, Layla would use what strength she had left to escape and report this to GODS.
Even these black hands — if it was Godfather, he would be able to deal with them.
“Do you really think Godfather will let you off easy once he hears about this? Jacob…”
At that moment, a sharp chill ran down the back of Layla’s neck.
Danger warning.
It wasn’t coming from the regenerating Min Hae-joon in front of her.
Layla whipped her head around toward where Jacob was standing.
“You’re Layla? Nice to meet you.”
A stranger in a black suit casually waved at her.
In front of him stood Jacob, staring blankly with unfocused eyes.
The tentacles that had been wrapped around Jacob’s body loosened, yet he remained floating in midair.
“I’ve got some questions, so just stay put over there for a bit.”
The man in the suit retracted the black tentacles back into his chest as he spoke.
Layla scanned the man up and down before asking,
“You… who the hell are you?”
“Me? Psycho.”
***
Chae Jin-young, who had been watching the battle between Min Hae-joon and the GODS members unfold.
‘He’s conserving his strength. Waiting for them to exhaust themselves and collapse?’
Min Hae-joon’s movements were restricted by the Force, yes, but he was deliberately not using his full power.
It almost felt like he was intentionally goading Layla and Jacob to tire themselves out.
Perhaps he planned to drain them completely once their resistance was gone — and then absorb them.
Those black hands of his were similar to tentacles; they could suck away an opponent’s mana and vitality.
Also, if he displayed too much overwhelming power too soon, there was a chance Layla would escape using spatial movement — so he was being cautious.
‘That’s not going to happen. He’s my prey.’
『Our prey.』
Ignoring the tentacle’s remark, Chae Jin-young took advantage of the moment when Min Hae-joon and Layla shot upward and approached Jacob.
The instant an intruder entered the Force Field, Jacob immediately began condensing Force.
Tzzzt-ztzt—!
Chae Jin-young responded to the Force gathering to bind his body by releasing psionic energy.
Kwaaaaang—!!
The Force, repelled by psychokinesis, detonated on the spot.
“…!”
Jacob’s eyes widened in shock.
Not only had this unknown person detected and pushed away the invisible Force — he had even made it explode.
He had never seen anyone capable of this before.
Except for the Godfather of GODS whom he served.
What was even more astonishing was that there wasn’t the slightest trace of mana usage.
“Your identity…—”
Before Jacob could finish his sentence—
Shwaaaaak—!
His body was suddenly yanked toward Chae Jin-young.
Even in that moment, Jacob tried to operate Force to shake him off.
Tskwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—!!
But the Force exploded before it could even touch Chae Jin-young’s body.
“You’ve got an interesting power, but in the end, it’s all rooted in mana — so it’s nothing that special.”
Jacob couldn’t even respond.
He was pulled right up to Chae Jin-young’s face.
Chwaaaaak—!
In an instant, his body was completely bound by black tentacles.
The tentacles immediately began sucking away Jacob’s polluted mana.
『Compared to the shell, there’s not much to eat.』
Since only a portion of Jacob’s mana was polluted, the tentacles didn’t have as much to absorb as expected.
Instead, some of the unpolluted mana flowed into Chae Jin-young.
『Still, the Sensory Manipulation ability is now ours.』
‘Not bad at all.’
While Jacob was being absorbed, Min Hae-joon and Layla crashed back down to the ground.
The moment Chae Jin-young turned his gaze toward the back of her head, Layla whipped around.
“You… what the hell are you?”
“Me? Psycho.”
Since he had come here as a secret agent, he figured it was better to introduce himself with his codename rather than his real one.
“How did you do that to Jacob… Just who are you…?”
As Jacob’s mana was completely drained, the amplified pleasure Layla had been feeling instantly returned to normal.
Thanks to that, she seemed to have regained her senses and was now thrown into confusion.
But her true nature hadn’t gone anywhere, so she quickly hardened her expression.
Just as she tried to use her remaining mana to turn the situation around—
“You’re the new recruit I saw in the Intelligence Department elevator, right?”
A chilling voice came from behind her.
It was Min Hae-joon, his body already fully restored.
“Or should I call you Chae Jin-young?”
The corners of the mouth on his pitch-black Creep-covered face stretched all the way to his ears in a grotesque grin.
“I should feel honored that humanity’s hope recognizes me, shouldn’t I?”
At Chae Jin-young’s mocking tone, Min Hae-joon withdrew his laughter and spoke.
“I never would have guessed. To think that a 9th-grade civil servant Hunter was the mastermind behind all those incidents. It wasn’t the Intelligence Department pulling strings from behind — it was you.”
“I thought your backer was GODS, but it seems the relationship isn’t as good as I imagined?”
“Fufu…”
Layla couldn’t understand the conversation between the two men, but she could sense they knew each other.
And that they weren’t on friendly terms.
If she played this situation right, she might still have a chance to escape.
That was what she was thinking—
Tzzzt-ztzt—!
The black hands that had been slowly eating away at her body suddenly surged like a violent wave.
“Guh…!”
With a short scream, Layla’s entire body turned black and stiffened.
Min Hae-joon, who had been testing the waters, seized that exact moment to act.
His target: Jacob, still bound in midair.
If he devoured him too, this operation would end with far more gain than loss.
But first, he had to remove the obstacle in his way.
“Chae Jin-young-ssi, I’ll give you one last chance. Join me, and I’ll let you live. I just happen to need a new dog to replace Shin Hye-yeon.”
“How about you? You seem pretty good at barking like a dog.”
“…”
Min Hae-joon twitched the corner of his mouth as if he’d expected that response.
Just as he began gathering black mana—
Kwa-jijik—!
Chae Jin-young struck first, ripping both of Min Hae-joon’s arms off with psychokinesis.
“Oh? So that’s the kind of ability you have? To do something like this without even using mana.”
Yet the man showed no sign of pain.
Swoooosh—
The torn-off arms melted into the Creep, which then crawled back up Min Hae-joon’s body and instantly regenerated new arms.
The entire process happened in the blink of an eye.
It was essentially perfect regeneration.
However, Chae Jin-young had faced a Mine similar to this one before.
Normally he could just drain all the mana with tentacles and be done with it, but this time he had questions he wanted answered.
“You won’t die easily — that’s actually perfect.”
When Chae Jin-young spoke expressionlessly, Min Hae-joon burst into laughter.
“Kahaha! Are you planning to torture me? Me, who doesn’t feel pain?”
“Is that so? Let’s see just how much you can’t feel.”
Chae Jin-young drew up a massive amount of black mana stored in the tentacles and activated the ability.
Sensory Manipulation.
“Pain level… maybe a thousand times would do?”
“What…?”
Before Min Hae-joon could finish speaking—
Kwa-jijik—!
Chae Jin-young twisted and tore off one of his arms with psychokinesis.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!”
The black Creep covering his body writhed violently as he thrashed in agony.
“Oh, performance confirmed. It works perfectly.”